Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most widespread forms of dementia among the elderly. The disease affects the regions of brain, responsible for memory, thinking and speech. The most common early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease is loss of short-term memory or difficulty in remembering recent events.
In the brain, neurons or nerve cells connect and communicate at a synapse, a junction between two nerve cells, where tiny bursts of chemicals called neurotransmitters carry information from one cell to another. Alzheimer’s disrupts this process, and eventually destroys synapses and kills neurons, damaging the brain’s communication network. Scientists don’t yet fully understand the cause of Alzheimer’s but it is likely that the causes include some mix of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.